Travel notes, reviews and useful tips

Surabaya Kouhoku: Delicious Indonesian Cuisine

Surabaya Kouhoku: Delicious Indonesian Cuisine

Sep 6, 2013

I love Indonesian cuisine. The first time I went to an Indonesian restaurant was in 1998, back when I was a college student in Nagoya, a city in central Japan. I’ve forgotten the name of the restaurant, but I remember how much I liked the food. Fast forward more than a decade later. Having since moved to the Tokyo vicinity, I found the place to be for...

Beautiful Irises at Sankeien Garden

Beautiful Irises at Sankeien Garden

Jun 4, 2013

It’s early summer, time for the irises to bloom and show off their violet, purple and white gorgeous clothes. There are several places to see these summer blessings, and one of them, the best in Yokohama as far as I’m concerned, is at Sankeien Garden. (Continued after the Japanese...

Oktoberfest in Yokohama

Oktoberfest in Yokohama

Oct 3, 2012

The Oktoberfest has come to town! Yey! Several of these are held around Japan in October: the one in Yokohama is the nicest of them all 🙂 I say this because the venue is at the Yokohama Akarenga-soko, red-bricked warehouses turned event complex. These are historical buildings completed during the turn of the 20th century. What could be a more appropriate...

Yokohama Marine Tower

Yokohama Marine Tower

Sep 21, 2012

Where to go when you want to see night views overlooking Yokohama Bay in Japan? The obvious choice would be the 60+-storey Landmark Tower’s observation deck. But the admission fee is rather expensive there. If you’re pinching pennies like me then place to be is the Yokohama Marine Tower. It’s right at the end of Yamashita Park, offering a...

Joinus Sculpture Park in Yokohama

Joinus Sculpture Park in Yokohama

Jun 24, 2012

Is there a train station that you’ve been using for years and yet never found out some of the fun places a few steps away? I’ve been living in Yokohama City in Japan for nearly three years before I found out that above the Yokohama train station, on top of a department store, is a lovely little...